The invention relates to an, information system for a vehicle. The invention also relates to a corresponding method for operating the information system and to a thereto related computer program product.
Many vehicles today are equipped with a vehicle computing system which can include a range of different functions for a vehicle occupant's use. Typically, a “head unit” is arranged slightly offset the vehicle operator's line-of-sight as part of a so called center console. In some implementations the head unit is a connected infotainment unit. The head unit is typically provided with some form of user interface, for example including various resource components such as a screen, speakers, a microphone, a touch screen and/or keypad, etc. A digital instrument cluster arranged within the direct line-of-sight of the vehicle operator and within an instrument duster is also provided, typically displaying a condensed amount of information such as the speed of the vehicle, the fuel level, state of charge, etc.
The bead unit is typically the control center for the automotive entertainment and information center, in some instances having a wireless connection to the web, a cloud server, etc. With a wireless connection the head unit may be arranged to provide status information back to the cloud server and allow software applications, apps for short, to be downloaded and operated on the head unit. Apps are computer software designed to help with performing specific tasks.
As a result of allowing apps to be installed and operated on the head unit, the vehicle occupant's can take advantage of functions for example not readily available at an initial delivery of the vehicle, through the interaction with the user interface components offered by the head unit.
However, allowing apps to be installed and operated on the bead unit also have some disadvantages, fix example relating to a secure operation of the vehicle and specifically in relation to distraction of the vehicle operator. With e.g. various entertaining applications accessible to the vehicle operator, the vehicle operator could be operating the vehicle with divided attention or even taking ones eyes off the road. Vehicle manufacturers are therefore reluctant to allow for apps to be freely downloaded and operated on the head unit of the vehicle.
In addition, according to recent studies done on driving safety, it has been discovered that when a vehicle operator looks at the in-vehicle display screens rather than the road, the vehicle operator is more prone to traffic accidents according to an exponentially increasing probability.
As understood from the above, this will be specifically highlighted in situations where the app is allowed to display information within the instrument cluster arranged within the direct line-of-sight of the vehicle operator. Accordingly, there is a desire, to provide means for improving the operational safety of the vehicle, while still enable a high level of flexibility for using later installed apps.
According to an aspect of the invention, the above is at least partly alleviated by an information system for a vehicle, comprising a primary in-vehicle display unit, a secondary in-vehicle display unit, the secondary in-vehicle display unit arranged within a primary viewing direction of a vehicle operator, and a control unit arranged in communication with the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, wherein the control unit is configured to receive a request from a software application executed by the control unit to, present information within at least one of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, and control the presentation within the secondary in-vehicle display unit based on a driving condition for the vehicle.
In accordance to the invention, the present vehicle context is taken into account when information is to be displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit, the secondary in-vehicle display unit being arranged directly in front of the vehicle operator and thus typically having an in comparison high level of impact on the total attention the vehicle operator may be given to the surrounds when operating the vehicle. The inventive information system will thus typically be given the opportunity to select how and when information may be displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit, such that a minimum disturbance is given to the vehicle operator when the vehicle situation rather demands the vehicle operator to place his/her focus on e.g. the road ahead. The inventive concept will in comparison to other prior art solutions be more flexible as to what type of software applications that may be downloaded and operated by the control unit. The reason for this is that the control unit subsequently may remove any disturbances in situations where the vehicle operator needs to be fully focused on maneuvering the vehicle.
In a preferred embodiment, the secondary in-vehicle display unit arranged as a component of an instrument cluster. The classic functionality of the instrument cluster is to provide the vehicle operator with information relating to speed, the fuel level, state of charge, etc., however by means of the invention also information provided from the software application running on the control unit will be allowed to be presented. Such information could for example relate to guiding instructions from a navigation system, condensed information relating to a current song/artist played by a stereo component comprised with the information system, etc. Correctly presented, this information to be displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit will in fact give the vehicle operator the possibility to give the surroundings and the road a head a maximum amount of attention, as the vehicle operator may concentrate himself/herself on what is displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit rather than seeking further (possibly unnecessary) information within the secondary in-vehicle display unit.
Within the context of the invention, the expression “software application” should be interpreted in the broadest sense, including any kind of software to having information to be presented within at least one of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit. The software application may be previously installed at the initial delivery of the vehicle (e.g. provided by the manufacturer of the vehicle) or later downloaded (e.g. provided by a third party software developer). Also, the expression “executed” should be interpreted broadly, including both directly executed by the control unit arranged within the vehicle and/or where the execution is distributed, for example at least partly shared between the control unit and e.g. a remotely arranged server, such as a cloud server. In addition, a request from the software application is understood to relate to the situation where the software application has information that the software application “wants” to display within at least one of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit.
According to an aspect of the invention, the software application may typically be programmed in a manner to correspond to the dual screen approach provided by means of the presented information system. In an embodiment, the software application may be configured to mirror information to each of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit. However, in a preferred embodiment the software application is designed to independently interface with both of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, and specifically target the information to be displayed in each of the display units. In some embodiments the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit are arranged to have different resolutions, and this information is a parameter known by the software application, taken into account when designing the respective user interface to be displayed within each of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit.
In a possible embodiment, the software application that needs to present information in the secondary in-vehicle display unit generates a graphics view to a virtual display. The virtual display matches the dimensions and resolution of the secondary in-vehicle display unit. In a possible implementation, a control module operating within the control unit takes the virtual display and encodes it to a digital video stream. The encoded digital video stream is subsequently distributed from the control unit to the secondary in-vehicle display unit by means of a there between provided network based connection. The encoded digital video stream is decoded at the secondary in-vehicle display unit where it is displayed.
By using the concept of “virtual display”, the actual display hardware of the secondary in-vehicle display unit must not necessarily be “directly” accessed. Rather, the secondary in-vehicle display unit is only receiving the graphical representation to be shown in the secondary in-vehicle display unit (i.e. the display driver is not directly controlled by the control unit). This concept is for example known from e.g. Google Chromecast, Virtual Network Computing (VNC), etc. This type of implementation would give an improved computing security to the vehicle, i.e. by only allowing; “virtual” access for a third party software developer to the instrument cluster. As a consequence, this may make vehicle manufacturer less reluctant to allow third party software applications to be downloaded and operated by the control unit. In such an implementation it may be desirable to arrange the control unit as a “separate” computing device, i.e. where the control unit only has limited direct access to vehicle critical components, thereby minimizing the risk fraudulent access by third party software applications (e.g. hacking).
In an embodiment where the vehicle is e.g. a truck, the later downloaded third party software applications may be an application having a relation to equipment installed after delivery. Such equipment could for example be provided by a professional truck bodybuilder. As an example, the truck, may in one embodiment be provided with a cooling arrangement for allowing delivery of frozen goods. The third party software application may in such au embodiment be arranged to interface with control components of the cooling arrangement, and the software application may be arranged to provide the truck driver with a warning, within the secondary in-vehicle display unit, in case of a problem with the cooling arrangement. The possibility with allowing further (later) third party software applications to be downloaded and executed by the control units reduced the need to install further e.g. display units within the vehicle compartment, thereby reducing the risk of the vehicle operator losing his/her focus on the road ahead of the vehicle.
In a possible alternative embodiment of the invention, the secondary in-vehicle display unit is arranged as component of a Head Up Display (HUD). In such an embodiment the information provided within the secondary in-vehicle display unit will be in the direct line-of-sight for the vehicle operator when looking out through the frontal windscreen. Hence, there will be a necessity to control the actual information being presented within the HUD to minimize any risks with operating the vehicle.
According to a preferred embodiment, the primary in-vehicle display unit is arranged outside of the primary viewing direction. Typically, the primary in-vehicle display unit is arranged as a component of a center consoled within a passenger compartment of the vehicle. In a typical embodiment of the invention, the primary in-vehicle display unit and the control unit are comprised in an in-vehicle entertainment center.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the driving condition for the vehicle is based on a current activity level for the vehicle operator. Accordingly, the vehicle compartment may be equipped with e.g. one or a plurality of cameras, etc. for determining how the vehicle operator is acting and maneuverings the vehicle. For example, if it is determined that the vehicle operator is fully focused on e.g. rotating the driving wheel, this may be taken as an indication that it would be desirable to not further “choke” the vehicle operator with information. Therefore, in such a scenario it may be desirable to allow the control unit to somewhat suppress the request from the software application to display information within the secondary in-vehicle display unit. Alternatively, the information to be displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit may be adapted in a predetermined manner to correspond to the indication of the activity level for the vehicle operator.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the driving condition for the vehicle is based on at least one of a present or upcoming vehicle scenario for the vehicle. For example, the vehicle may be equipped with means for analyzing the surrounding of the vehicle, for example by acquiring information from an externally arranged camera, radar device, etc. Thus, in case it e.g. has been determined that a potential obstacle is present in front of the vehicle, this information may be taken into account for controlling how information is presented within the secondary in-vehicle display unit. Furthermore, the vehicle may be equipped with navigation equipment and possibly a GNSS receiver (e.g. a GPS and/or a GLONASS receiver, or similar). Using such devices, and being within the scope of the invention, an upcoming road condition (e.g. a sharp turn, a steep hill, etc.) may be taken into account for controlling how information is presented within the secondary in-vehicle display unit, all for the purpose of keeping the vehicle operator focused in the condition at hand.
Preferably, only a section of the it cluster (i.e. the secondary in-vehicle display unit) is accessible by the control unit for presentation of information. Accordingly, this would allow for a further control of how information is displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit.
In an embodiment, the control unit is further configured to execute a plurality of different software applications, e.g. typically a multitasking implementation. In such an implementation it could be possible to equip the vehicle with leavers/control functionality to switch between the different software applications, specifically to provide input as to which software application is to be displaying information within the secondary in-vehicle display unit. Alternatively, or also, the control unit may be configured for making such a selection, for example based on the current driving condition for the vehicle. It is also possible, and within the scope of the invention, to allow more than a single software application to be presented within the secondary in-vehicle display unit.
In a possible embodiment of the invention, the controlling of the presentation within the secondary in-vehicle display unit further comprises controlling a location of presentation of the information within the secondary in-vehicle display unit. In some implementations the information may only be displayed within e.g. one or a few selected areas of the instrument cluster and the location will be fixed to one of these locations. In another implementation the location of presentation of the information within the secondary in-vehicle display unit may be more flexible, possibly dependent on e.g. the current the vehicle condition.
Within the scope of the invention, it is possible to allow a first software application to be presented within the primary in-vehicle display unit and a second software application to be displayed within the secondary in-vehicle display unit, where the second software application is different from the first software application.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for operating an information system, the information system comprising a primary in-vehicle display unit, a secondary in-vehicle display unit, the secondary in-vehicle display unit arranged within a primary viewing direction of a vehicle operator, and a control unit,
wherein the method comprises the steps of establishing a communication link between the control unit and the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, receiving a request from a software application executed by the control unit to present information within at least one of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, and controlling the presentation within the secondary in-vehicle display unit based on a driving condition for the vehicle. This aspect of the invention provides similar advantages as discussed above in relation to the previous aspect of the invention.
According to still further aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product comprising, a computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program means for operating an information system, the information system comprising, a primary in-vehicle display unit, a secondary in-vehicle display unit, the secondary in-vehicle display unit arranged within a primary viewing direction of a vehicle operator, and a control unit, wherein the computer program product comprises code for establishing a communication link between the control unit and the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, code for receiving a request from a software application executed by the control unit to present information within at least one of the primary and the secondary in-vehicle display unit, and code for controlling the presentation within the secondary in-vehicle display unit based on a driving condition for the vehicle. Also this aspect of the invention provides similar advantages as discussed above in relation to the previous aspects of the invention.
The computer readable medium may be any type of memory device, including one of a removable nonvolatile random access memory, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a USB memory, an SD memory card, or a similar computer readable medium known in the art.
Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.